The Late Shift, Part 2

Now that Conan has had his Tonight Show swansong, I feel the desire to weigh in on this whole debacle. First, a little history. When I was younger I used to watch Letterman, I could never stay up late enough to watch Conan. It wasn't until five or six years ago when they used to play the previous night's show on MSNBC at 7:00PM that I really started watching him and grew to love the show. And when they stopped doing that, I would catch clips on YouTube or Hulu. Conan has far become my favorite late night guy since Johnny Carson. His humor always leaned toward the silly, and he was never afraid to poke fun at himself. His cast of characters is legendary; Triumph the insult comic dog, Masturbating Bear, Pimpbot, Preparation H Raymond, Coked Up Werewolf, Frankenstein, Vomiting Kermit, Fed-Ex Pope, etc. His via satellite interviews with Arnold Schwarzenegger, or George W. Bush or Martha Stewart were always hilarious. And of course, by far my favorite running bit on the show, the Walker Texas Ranger lever. The best part of that bit was watching Conan react when the clip was over. It was always so real and so funny. And the interviews of course, Conan was the best. Always in the moment, always having a good time.

It's a damn shame what happened with the Tonight Show. NBC tried to have their cake and eat it too, and the ratings suffered for it. I can't help but think that if Jay had just bowed out gracefully and retired, none of this ever would have happened. Yes, Conan's rating weren't there yet, and maybe only part of that is Leno's fault for the bad lead in, but it took Leno two years to beat Letterman, Conan wasn't going to do it in seven months no matter what his lead in was. It's unfair, but it's business, and NBC is reaping what they sewed here. During this entire situation, Conan has been nothing but classy, and Leno has been anything but. How he has the nerve to act like an innocent in all of this is staggering, with his back room deals and backstabbing. His monologue is hack, his bits are unfunny, and his interview skills are piss poor. How he ever became number 1 in the first place is a mystery.

As for Conan's last show, I thought it was awesome. Just the right mix of comedy and sentimentality, class act all the way. Tom Hanks was great, always funny and always a great guest. Neil Young was great, I've never been that much of a fan of his but I have to say that the song he performed was both beautiful and sad, and it struck just the right mood for the occasion. And I loved the song at the end with Will Ferrel. Such a great moment for Conan, a great way to say goodbye. Conan has seven months before he can return to television, most likely with Fox. Here's hoping that he lands on his feet, and that he continues to make us all laugh for many years to come. And here's hoping that his new show kicks Jay Leno's ass.

We love you Coco, come back soon.